Written by Jeffrey Roessler

One of the major things that Valley Torah is known for is its offering of extravagant trips. Valley Torah’s Junior class just had a Palm Springs Overnight that was over the top! On February 28, we departed from Valley Torah following a Gemarah Shiur. The trip started off with an awesome car ride to Eden Canyon. Following our arrival, we embarked on a beautiful hike to an alluring waterfall, crossing rocks in the stream, bonding with fellow classmates, and witnessing HaShem’s beautiful creations. As we approached the end of the hike, pizza was brought to us for our enjoyment and then we davened Mincha. We got straight into the van to start our journey to the complex where we were lodging later that night. 

We arrived at the complex and got to the lobby to check-in. This complex had everything you could think of, it included a luxurious gym, an elegant lazy river, large pools, an entertaining game room, and a basketball court, where many exciting and nail-biting games occurred. We had about three hours to enjoy what the complex had to offer. We were having so much fun that the time went by super quickly; it felt like only thirty minutes into enjoying the activities, and then we were called for dinner. 

Dinner was a mouthwatering barbeque made by our very own Rabbi Majeski, Rabbi Koshki, and Rabbi Segal. This delicious dinner included hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, corn salad, and coleslaw. This was a perfect meal as the activities made us crave good food. Following the meal, we davened Arvit/Maariv and departed for Dave & Busters. 

We got to Dave & Busters and all of us were eager to start playing the arcade games and earn tickets. If you walked into this exact Dave & Busters, you would have seen this amazing group of teens making memories, laughing, and definitely having a good time. From air hockey to motorcycle racing, these teens were having the times of their lives. As soon as we knew it, it was close to 11:30 P.M. and we needed to head back to the complex. 

We arrived back at the complex at about midnight and we enjoyed a midnight snack, which included Rabbi Samuel’s famous cholent. After devouring the delicious cholent, we had a deep conversation that broke out into a Kumzitz with amazing Ruach. At about 1 A.M. in the morning, we all split off into our rooms since we had an exciting day the next day. 

Wake up call was bright and early at 7:30 A.M. in the morning. We woke up, packed our bags, and loaded the vans. We were on our way to Chabad to daven Shacharis, learn, enjoy a luscious breakfast, and pack our lunches for the day. As soon as we finished cleaning up after breakfast, we loaded the vans to ATVing. 

As soon as we got to ATVing, we were greeted by the employees and we were instructed to watch this short film. This film was for us to know how to work the ATV properly. After the film concluded, we were given hair nets, glasses, and helmets. As soon as we were all geared up, we all got onto our very own ATV! They told us how to start the vehicle and they answered our questions, making us start off in the practice area. As we started to get comfortable with that area, we were able to go up a mountain and start going down. As soon as we knew it, one of the employees came around telling us to start heading back. Once we returned the ATVs, we davened Mincha and ate lunch. After that, we headed back to Valley Torah, but we took a pit stop at 7-11 to get drinks and snacks. During the car ride, we enjoyed a few shiurim and stories from Torah Anytime, Meaningful Minute, etc. Fast forward a few hours, and we’re back at Valley Torah and getting our luggage to go back home. Thank you, Rabbi Segal, for planning this outstanding trip! This is going to be one of my highlights at Valley Torah as a Junior.